Science, Technology and Society Unit Welcome!

Research and teaching at the Science, Technology and Society Unit has two interconnected aims: to better understand the various societal and environmental implications of technology development and – based on this knowledge – to strengthen research and innovation in line with broader societal needs.

This type of research is conducted at early stages of technology innovation and in an inter- and transdisciplinary way by bringing together scientists and engineers from all disciplines and by involving technology users and stakeholder groups.

News

November 15, 2018

Stakeholder Consultation on the Future of Genome Editing in Germany and Europe

On 8 and 9 November 2019 Armin Spök and his team held a stakeholder consultation in Berlin to discuss opportunities and challenges for plant breeders, farmers, food and feed processors, regulators, and researchers to use of genome editing techniques in developing new plant varieties. According to a recent ruling of the European Court of Justice plants derived from genome editing are subject to the EU harmonised legislation on genetically modified organisms. This ruling is perceived by scientits and plant breeders to be a major hurdle for breeding innovation but welcomed by environmental organisations.

Armin Spök chaired the two-day consultaion together with Matthias Arlt from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology. The workshop was organised in the context of ELSA GEA project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Alexander Lang, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, Malte Gruber, University of Lucerne and Armin Spök from the TU Graz met in a hearing of the Committee on Science, Education and Culture of the Swiss Federal Council in Bern on the questions of parlamentarians on genome editing.Armin Spök is a consortium partner of a technology assessment project commissioned by the Swiss TA-Swiss Foundation on genome editing.

The Swiss Federal Council has announced its intention to adapt national genetic engingeering legislation in order to adapt it to the new technological possiblities and challenges of genome editing.

We are pleased to welcome Christian Dayé to the Science, Technology and Society Unit. Before Christian Dayé worked at the Department of Sociology of the University of Graz and the University Klagenfurt. His main fields of research are Sociology of science, knowledge and technology, Responsible research and innovation, Social research methods and methodology and Social theory. Current he is working on the EU-CHIC project led by Armin Spök.

In our call for sessions we suggest the following thematic fields and we would like to encourage participants to think outside the box by combining thematic fields and considering potential intersections (interactive sessions formats, such as discussion groups, slow talks, etc. are welcome too). For submitting your session abstract, please use thisonline form and send an abstract (max. 500 words) no later than October 31, 2018

From May 7 to May 8, 2018 the 17th Annual STS Conference took place in Graz. The Science, Technology and Society Unit organized in cooperation with the IFZ Graz and the IAS-STS the 17th Annual STS Conference Graz. The conference offered the oportunity to present and dicuss a broad spectrum on themes in the area of digitalization of society, gender-technology and environment, sustainable food systems, life sciences/biotechnologies and much more. About 200 reseachers from all over the world presented their work in this fields with a specific focus on critical issues in science, technology and society studies.

Many thanks to all who contributed to the sucess of this event!

April 28, 2018

YEP (Young Energy Professionals)-Zukunftswerkstatt

On the 27th of April 2018, the YEP - Zukunftswerkstatt (WEC - World Energy Council Austria) took place in the premises of the Federation of industrialists. Representatives from NGOs in the field of energy economics, as well as envoys from known energy companies, took part in the WEC-sponsored discussions. At the beginning there was a talk by Günter Getzinger on the topic "The future of the energy industry". Under the moderation of Jürgen Suschek-Berger, the methodology of the Zukunftswerkstatt was explained and subsequently enacted in small groups.

Armin Spök was invited as Guest Associate Editor for a Special Issue on "Plant Genome Editing - Policies and Governance" jointly hosted by Frontierts in Plant Science and Plant Biotechnology, Biosafety and Biosecurity. In the field of plant sciences Frontiers runs a number of highly cited open access journals.